Ellen Spannagel

Ellen is currently a BCL/JD student at McGill’s Faculty of Law and holds a Bachelor of Journalism and Humanities from Carleton University. She is passionate about climate justice that is disability-inclusive and centers gender, sexual, and romantic minorities and how this interacts with legal frameworks. She is also passionate about storytelling and the ways in which knowledge is built, translated, and shared across regions and communities. Ellen grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and enjoys spending her free time outdoors.

Ellen worked with Human Rights Watch to conduct research on climate change and its connectedness with vulnerable populations, such as people with disabilities, and older people.

Community Engagement Initiative

In a collaborative survey with SC Fellow Tuviere Onookome-Okome, Tuviere and Ellen’s CEI was a survey on the experiences of people in heat waves in Montréal. The target audience was residents of the Island of Montréal. The medium of a survey for the CEI was selected given its ability to be easily shared and was disseminated with repeated and ongoing outreach over a period of one month between mid-July and mid-August, 2021. The survey was disseminated in both French and English. Overall, the survey received 38 responses, including 31 responses in English, and 7 responses in French. Read the report: Montreal Heat Wave Survey.

Report

The Experiences of People with Disabilities & Older Persons During Climate-induced Heat Waves: Evidence, Gaps, & Future Directions

In the form of a literature review, this report examines the impacts of climate-included heat waves on persons with disabilities and older persons while also outlining the relationship of these impacts on social connectedness, including elements such as social support and social isolation. These impacts are examined alongside climate adaptation plans and heat wave strategies. Several recommendations are proposed to mitigate the impacts of climate induced heat waves on persons with disabilities and older persons, and to strengthen existing responses to heat waves.

Keywords

Climate change, heatwaves, disability rights, older adults, heat response, social connectedness.